Climate research has long pointed out the urgency of mitigation, transformation and adaptation. However, conventional means, in particular scientific publications and the so-called “dissemination” of research results to society, do not allow us to take action, or at least not quickly enough.
It is therefore increasingly being recognized that solutions to the climate crisis need to be developed and implemented together with all stakeholders in society beyond the scientific disciplines - in a transdisciplinary manner. These solutions must also be practicable, acceptable and scientifically robust. This requires cooperation (co-design & co-production) between science and stakeholders right from the formulation of research questions and then continuously throughout the course of research projects. Numerous participatory formats and forms of dialog have been established for this purpose (e.g. The Agile Initiative and Living Labs). These transdisciplinary formats are characterized by their openness to different forms of knowledge and are aimed at mutual learning.
As Transacademic Interface Managers (TIM), Raphaela Maier, Andrea Jany and Holger Hoff implement transdisciplinary formats in the Field of Excellence Climate Change Graz.
Holger Hoff has extensive experience in the transdisciplinary orientation of local, national and international projects in climate, environmental and sustainability research. He has worked for many years for the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). During this time, he provided scientific advice to German and Swedish development cooperation and worked with numerous government, private sector and civil society actors to move from knowledge to action.
As TIM in the Field of Excellence Climate Change at the University of Graz, he develops transdisciplinary formats in research and teaching. He contributes to the application- and demand-oriented focus of projects such as Integrate and DISCC-AT, as well as to the corresponding orientation of new project proposals. It also integrates stakeholder participation into existing and new teaching formats, such as the Interdisciplinary Internships (IPs) at the University of Graz and the Sustainability Challenge (cross-university), in which students, scientists and practice partners work together to develop new solutions. The aim is to consolidate these formats by creating a Campus Living Lab in the profile area.
To network the University of Graz with the national and international transdisciplinarity community, the TIM works in Priority 1 of UniNEtZ (Transdisciplinary Dialogues) and is a member of the IGlobal Alliance for Inter- and Transdisciplinarity (ITD) and the Society for Transdisciplinary and Participatory Research (GTPF). He also co-leads the CCCA's climate neutrality working group, which is currently developing guidelines on climate neutrality for companies, cities and municipalities.
Andrea Jany is a researcher with a degree in architecture from the Bauhaus University Weimar and a PhD from Graz University of Technology, which she completed with distinction. Her doctoral thesis examined the ‘Modell Steiermark’ housing programme – a post-war social housing experiment unique in Europe – from architectural-historical and sociological perspectives; it was published as *Experiment Wohnbau* (Jovis). As a Marshall Plan Scholar, she conducted research at the Stanford Humanities Centre in California on social democracy and the built community; in 2017–18, she taught there as part of the Sustainable Cities programme. She has since incorporated this focus on the interplay between the built environment, politics and social change into her research.
In 2015, she co-founded the Institute for Housing Research. In national and international projects – including S’ReVit (smart revitalisation of residential buildings, FFG), GO4CO (Governance for Cohousing, Austrian Climate Fund) – she has developed transdisciplinary approaches that involve residents, planners and civil society actors from problem definition through to implementation. As Coordinating Lead Author of the APCC Special Report: Structures for a Climate-Friendly Life (2022) and, on behalf of UniNEtZ, for the area of SDG 11.1 – Safe and Affordable Housing, she has helped shape the field of housing within the Austrian climate discourse. Together with Eugen Gross, she edited the volume *Gelebte Utopie – Die Terrassenhaussiedlung der Werkgruppe Graz* (Jovis) in 2022.
Since 2024, Andrea Jany has been conducting research at the Wegener Centre for Climate and Global Change at the University of Graz, focusing on transdisciplinarity in the context of climate change and the built environment. As part of the EU Horizon project DeCO2 (Dynamic Decarbonisation Pathways Framework), she leads the Living Lab Graz in the Terrassenhaussiedlung and is investigating how technological, social and political innovations interact to achieve climate-just renovation in listed buildings. In the European collaborative project HeriSol, she is responsible for leading four demonstrators across Europe; in the MSCA project CHARM (Conservation of Heritage Architecture, Buildings and Sites by Resilient Methods), she is working with a PhD candidate to investigate qualitative methods for assessing community engagement in the context of climate risks and cultural heritage. In the KLIK training programme (Climate-Competent Cities, Austrian Climate Fund), she is integrating building culture and circular urban planning into local government practice.
Jany teaches at the University of Graz and Graz University of Technology on housing, participation and sustainable urban development. She is a board member of the Central Association of Architects of Austria and a co-initiator of WOHNBAU.DIALOG STEIERMARK. Within the Climate Change Graz profile area, she has been an Associated Member since 2023, a member of the Transdisciplinarity – Community of Practice since 2025, and has been part of the Transacademic Interface Managers (TIM) team since 2026. Her aim is to build upon and further develop this dynamic platform – drawing on her previous dedicated work – by establishing reliable structures for networking, visibility, exchange and project development. The medium- to long-term vision is to establish an independent research group for transdisciplinarity at the University of Graz, where knowledge is generated and linked, research has a societal impact, and from which long-term, sustainable partnerships for the necessary transformation emerge.
Raphaela Maier holds a doctorate in environmental systems science and has worked with diverse perspectives and cultures over the course of her many years of international training. She has successfully applied this knowledge in her research at the Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change at the University of Graz and at Oxford University in national and international projects on climate change mitigation and adaptation (e.g. EU Horizon TIPPING.plus, A-LEVER). In doing so, she became increasingly aware of the importance of overcoming scientific boundaries and developing feasible solutions to the challenges of climate change in cooperation with practitioners.
As TIM of the Field of Excellence Climate Change at the University of Graz, she is establishing a transdisciplinary exchange format in which scientists and social actors work together continuously to develop joint research questions that are implemented in so-called research sprints. It acts as an interface between Climate Change Graz and relevant stakeholders and networks and supports the members of the profile area in the initiation and implementation of transdisciplinary projects and stakeholder processes.
